'Ugly Betty' Star's Decision to Back Clinton Wasn't Based on GenderThursday, February 07, 2008

Ugly Bettystar America Ferrera has been actively supporting presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who, if she manages to win the majority of the votes in November, will be marking an important milestone in U.S. history by becoming the country's first female president. However, while Ferrera recognizes the significant impact of Clinton's presence in the race, she said that the fact Clinton's a woman is not the reason why she is supporting her.

“I think it's really exciting that she's a woman and that the face of politics has been changed because there has been a viable woman candidate,” America Ferrera, who plays the title character in Ugly Betty, told Glamour magazine's political blog Glamocracy. “But I wouldn't support a candidate based on whether they're a woman or a man or whether they're black or white. I think that voting for a woman because she is a woman is not really progress.”

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Ferrera explained that she had taken the time to really assess what exactly motivated her to support Clinton, and ultimately realized that out of all the candidates, she is the one who “deserves our support, because she is going to be an amazing president.”

The 23-year-old Emmy Award-winning actress also said that she came up with many reasons why she wants Clinton to become the next leader of the country, but what stood out to her the most is Clinton's dedication to “achieving things that are about enfranchising the most disenfranchised people” in the nation.

“That is a forgotten art, especially in this current administration,” America Ferrera explained. “I think she is an incredibly intelligent woman, and she has fought really hard battles; she has won some and she's lost some. She stands up for what she believes in and she puts herself in the line of fire time and time again for things [no matter how] unpopular they might be.”

Recently, the Ugly Betty star conducted an interview with Clinton, during which she was able to get to know the former first lady on a more personal level.

“As a person, she's incredibly engaging. I was so taken by how lovely and warm she is. The truth is, politics is a hard game, and to some degree everyone has to have a game face that you put on to face attacks and challenges,” she said. “I did feel very lucky to meet Hillary and feel that warmth and that genuineness. This is who she is; it's not an act.”